Results 1 to 2 of 2

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

  1. #1
    Senior Member Brian503a's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    California or ground zero of the invasion
    Posts
    16,029

    Mexican community sets down roots in Big Sky Montana

    www.bozemandailychronicle.com

    Mexican community sets down roots in Big Sky

    By BETH SLOVIC Chronicle Staff Writer
    BIG SKY -- The looming peaks and small-town vibe in this growing resort community remind Jesus Espinoza Amezcua of home, even though that home is thousands of miles away in the southern state of Michoacón, Mexico.

    A United States citizen since 1997, Espinoza is comfortable in Montana and in Big Sky, where he lives and works as a carpenter.

    He grew up around cows and horses and even owns a small ranch near where he was born.

    The 42-year-old acknowledges he entered the United States illegally, walking across the border with the help of a smuggler when he was a teenager,

    But Espinoza became a legal, permanent resident of this country in 1986, when President Reagan signed a law granting illegal aliens amnesty. He was sworn in as a citizen at a ceremony in Salt Lake City several years later.

    "I love Montana," Espinoza said, wearing a straw hat, jeans and boots.

    "It fascinates me," he said of the state, where he and several male relatives have lived and worked together for three years.

    The group returns to Mexico for one month at the height of Montana's winter, when the construction business slows.

    Despite Espinoza's fondness for Montana, he knows some Montanans don't want him here. The recent trickle of Mexican workers to the area makes many of them upset, he said.

    "A lot of people don't accept us," he said in Spanish, although he also speaks English. "You can feel it when people don't like you."

    Sensing this discrimination, three area businesses employing Mexican men as carpenters, masons and landscapers refused to participate in this story. Representatives of the businesses said they worried about the well-being of their employees.

    However, representatives of two of the businesses also said they feared retribution from other contractors. Both businesses were from other Western states, where the use of Mexican construction workers is much more common.

    Today, the Mexican population in Big Sky hovers near 30, according to several Mexican workers living in the area. The most recent, official count of the Mexican population in Big Sky took place in 2000, when that number stood at 14.

    One of the few people to interact regularly with Mexican workers in Big Sky is Jean Palmer, the station manager at the local post office. She often assists the workers with sending money to their families in Mexico. She agreed about 30 Mexicans live and work in Big Sky.

    Espinoza guessed the Mexican population in the area comprised 10 carpenters, 15 masons and five concrete workers.

    Minuscule compared with other states', the overall Hispanic population in Montana stood at 2 percent in 2000, according to the U.S. Census. Mexicans made up about 65 percent of that figure, the Census shows.

    Nationwide, Hispanics are now the largest minority in the country and Mexicans represent the fastest-growing segment of this demographic.

    But the trend isn't as visible in Montana. Not yet, anyway.

    Whether it will ever become more visible here is a matter of debate.

    Experts who monitor the movement of people disagree on the potential for growth of the Hispanic community in Gallatin County. The workers themselves have different opinions about what the future holds.

    Jim Sylvester, an economist and demographer at the University of Montana's Bureau of Business and Economic Research, said the Hispanic population in Montana is not likely to increase.

    "There are more attractive areas to the Hispanic population than Montana," he said.

    It's cold here and many of the jobs are seasonal, he said. Both are disincentives to Latinos' moving here permanently, he said.

    José Luis Morales, Espinoza's cousin, agreed with Sylvester. He cited Montana's frigid temperatures as one reason why more Mexicans won't move to Montana.

    Morales, who is 45 and works with Espinoza, entered the country illegally when he was 19. But he also became a permanent resident when Reagan granted illegal aliens amnesty, he said.

    Compared with other states, Morales added, immigration and customs enforcement in Montana is aggressive. Mexicans without proper documentation tend not to come here, because they can live and work more freely in other states such as California, Nevada and Wyoming, he said.

    JÃ¥mz Van Patten, project manager for Bitterroot Builders in Big Sky, said he was surprised by how few Latinos there were working in construction in the area.

    "Immigration is way tougher on them here," Van Patten said. "And I think the community is harder on them, too."

    He noted that the construction work force outside of Montana looks different.

    "When we worked in Colorado, 50 percent of our guys were Mexican," he said. "It's strange there are no Mexicans here ... I think it's going to change."

    Espinoza also expects more Mexicans to move to Montana eventually. There's steady work here, and that's the most important thing, he said. Anyone can learn to adapt to the cold, he said.

    But after living in Montana for several years, Espinoza said he knows some Montanans would prefer fewer people moved here. He doesn't understand why, but he senses the attitude, he said.

    People born in Mexico, he said, tend not to be so territorial.

    "Mexicans are very united," Espinoza said. "If there's good work, we tell people and they want to come."

    His own life is an example.

    Several years ago, one of Espinoza's employers demanded that he learn English. As a result, Espinoza feels more comfortable today talking to English-speaking Americans.

    Now he's taken on the task of getting work for himself and his five male relatives, who follow him from job to job. His efforts have taken the group from California to Utah to Wyoming to Montana, Espinoza said.

    Today, none of the workers' wives live in Big Sky, although some of the wives are also legally permitted to do so.

    Espinoza, however, said he thought more Mexican women would move to Montana once one of them got a job here. There were plenty of opportunities for these women to work in Gallatin County as nannies or housekeepers, he said.

    In the meantime, Morales's wife -- who has documentation that would allow her to live in the United States -- lives in Mexico, where she cares for the couple's children. The couple's two daughters are not permitted to live in the United States, he said. And until they are grown, his wife lives with them there, spending the money Morales sends home every 15 days, he said.

    Leah Schmalzbauer, a Montana State University sociologist who studies globalization and immigration, said larger communities of immigrants grow out of networks such as Espinoza's.

    "Once an immigration community takes any sort of hold in an area, and there's growth in that area and money, the demand for low-wage services increases, and the immigrant community is a natural to meet that demand," Schmalzbauer said. "It's happened throughout the country."

    In Northern Maine, despite the cold, the Mexican community is growing rapidly, Schmalzbauer said. Unlikely places such as Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota also have large communities of immigrants from Mexico and Central America, she added.

    The availability of jobs and the presence of family and friends draws immigrants to an area, she said.

    "Employers are just not going to say no to immigrant workers, because they're so much cheaper," Schmalzbauer said.

    The population of Latino workers will grow, she said, adding "it's inevitable."

    She noted that the Mexican government is increasing its pressure on the United States to adopt policies allowing more Mexicans to live and work legally in the United States.

    Millions of families in Mexico have come to depend on the remittances workers such as Morales -- and the millions of Mexicans who are here illegally -- send home after every paycheck, she said.

    "This just ensures that it will continue," she said.
    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at http://eepurl.com/cktGTn

  2. #2
    Senior Member Richard's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Boston
    Posts
    5,262
    It would be a good idea for any Montanans reading this to front run the situation and ake sure that anyone who comes in is a legal immigrant or a citizen. Employers should use DHS Basic Pilot I-9 checking and neighbors should not let anyone slide on mere physical inspection there is a thriving industry in fake documentation. Within those parameters I would not mind seeing the Hispanic population grow larger.
    I support enforcement and see its lack as bad for the 3rd World as well. Remittances are now mostly spent on consumption not production assets. Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •